Restless
- Episode aired May 23, 2000
- 13+
- 1h
IMDb RATING
8.6/10
4.6K
YOUR RATING
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles experience dreams in which they are pursued by a mysterious figure.Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles experience dreams in which they are pursued by a mysterious figure.Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles experience dreams in which they are pursued by a mysterious figure.
Anthony Head
- Rupert Giles
- (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Emma Caulfield Ford
- Anya
- (as Emma Caulfield)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe text being written on the Tara's back is a love poem by Sappho of Lesbos, the Greek lyric poet and archetype for homosexual love. The word "lesbian" is derived of her birthplace.
- GoofsAs Xander crawls from his ice cream truck into his room, the the blue screen outside the truck's side window partially leaves the visible area of the window, revealing the studio. Then, the chroma key effect is turned off too early, showing the blue screen in its true color. This is only visible in the expanded-to-widescreen version, not in the originally intended 4:3 frame.
- Quotes
[in Buffy's dream]
PA Announcer: The demons have escaped. Please run for your lives.
Riley Finn: This could be trouble. We'd better make a fort.
Adam: I'll get some pillows.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Gift (2001)
Featured review
Whedon Attack
I'm amazed that "Buffy" fanatics don't like this episode. I honestly had more faith in them than that. I assumed that because this series was a remarkably innovative and intelligent production which recognized the boundless potential of the television medium that its followers would largely share similar traits. The feedback I've heard on this Season Four closer is that it's dull, confusing and pointless. I sorely beg to differ.
What I understood of "Restless" the first time I saw it (and have been consolidated by every further viewing) is that it is an unadulterated Freudian character study, realized with lite David Lynch methodology. It's true that there is SFA of the formulaic Big Bad plotting that "Buffy" episodes usually revolve around, but I was actually somewhat thankful for this. "Restless" is a denouement - a reflection and a meditation, and although there is an obligatory evil at work, the villain here is vague and besides the point. "It's all about the journey," says Giles and despite the obviousness, he's right.
I don't know about everyone else, but I love these characters. In that cathartic, fanboy, TV-show way, I care about them. And by God, I'm excited when I get the chance to learn something about them - I loved the in depth character studies of other such low-key episodes as Season Three's "Amends" and "The Zeppo", Season Five's "The Body" or Season Six's "Hell's Bells". And I'm not saying all this to alienate non "Buffy" nerds or prove myself "Buffy" nerd supreme, just to illustrate that the episodes that have enough impact on me to make me remember their names are the ones where I feel like we've gotten somewhere with the people we watch, and we understand them just a little bit better. To me, no episode ever did this better than "Restless".
So have your way and think your thoughts, but I like to have a little shared humanity with the objects of my fandom now and again, and "telling statement" dreams of hidden fears and desires just does more for me than fist fights with interchangeable Evil Dead. As far as I'm concerned, this mid-series nap by our drama-heavy protagonists gives more multi-viewing rewards than most feature length films. Not only this, but it is essential viewing in any attempt to understand how Joss Whedon's cheesy-by-premise, Supernatural soap opera became and holds a place as one of the most compelling television experiences of all time.
What I understood of "Restless" the first time I saw it (and have been consolidated by every further viewing) is that it is an unadulterated Freudian character study, realized with lite David Lynch methodology. It's true that there is SFA of the formulaic Big Bad plotting that "Buffy" episodes usually revolve around, but I was actually somewhat thankful for this. "Restless" is a denouement - a reflection and a meditation, and although there is an obligatory evil at work, the villain here is vague and besides the point. "It's all about the journey," says Giles and despite the obviousness, he's right.
I don't know about everyone else, but I love these characters. In that cathartic, fanboy, TV-show way, I care about them. And by God, I'm excited when I get the chance to learn something about them - I loved the in depth character studies of other such low-key episodes as Season Three's "Amends" and "The Zeppo", Season Five's "The Body" or Season Six's "Hell's Bells". And I'm not saying all this to alienate non "Buffy" nerds or prove myself "Buffy" nerd supreme, just to illustrate that the episodes that have enough impact on me to make me remember their names are the ones where I feel like we've gotten somewhere with the people we watch, and we understand them just a little bit better. To me, no episode ever did this better than "Restless".
So have your way and think your thoughts, but I like to have a little shared humanity with the objects of my fandom now and again, and "telling statement" dreams of hidden fears and desires just does more for me than fist fights with interchangeable Evil Dead. As far as I'm concerned, this mid-series nap by our drama-heavy protagonists gives more multi-viewing rewards than most feature length films. Not only this, but it is essential viewing in any attempt to understand how Joss Whedon's cheesy-by-premise, Supernatural soap opera became and holds a place as one of the most compelling television experiences of all time.
helpful•14229
- morphion2
- Sep 21, 2007
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